New Brunswick Analysis 2016 Census Topic: Language

Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

October 2017

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 1 of 11

Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census (May 10, 2016).

General Information

On August 2, 2017, the third wave of data from the 2016 Census of Population was released. This

document will cover some of the key findings concerning the language data that was included in this

release, focusing on New Brunswick.

Knowing how the population of New Brunswick communicates is important information, particularly as

the only official bilingual province of Canada. Language data and analysis can be used to help with

decision-making, planning, and policy formation relating to such topics as education, immigration, and

the labour market.

Language is a major aspect of the culture, labour market, and more generally, the day-to-day lives of the

population. Meeting linguistic and cultural needs is a key component of a successful economy and

society.

Mother Tongue and Language Spoken Most Often at Home

Percentage of Population

Whose Language Spoken Most Often At Home Is French

Percentage of Population Whose Mother Tongue is

French* Canada 20.0% 20.6% Quebec 79.0% 77.1% New Brunswick 28.0% 31.4% Yukon 2.4% 4.4% Ontario 2.1% 3.7%

*In this table, and throughout this document, whenever a language is referred to as a group or population’s “mother tongue” (or their “language spoken most often at home”) it is referring to respondents who reported that language as their only mother tongue (or language spoken most often at home), unless otherwise stated.

Besides Quebec, New Brunswick was the only other

province or territory that had a significant proportion

of their population that spoke primarily French (with

Yukon and Ontario ranking a distant third and fourth,

both in terms of proportion of population who spoke

primarily French at home, and proportion of

population whose mother tongue is French).

Between 2011 and 2016, the percentage of

population whose language spoken most often at

home is French, along with the percentage of population whose mother tongue is French,

decreased across most of Canada, including New Brunswick (-0.3 p.p. and -0.2 p.p. respectively)

and Quebec (-0.9 p.p. and -1.0 p.p. respectively). The territories, however, saw small increases in

these proportions.

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 2 of 11

68.7% of New Brunswickers spoke English at home most often, although only 64.2% of the

population’s mother tongue was English.

28.0% of New Brunswickers spoke French at home most often, despite 31.4% of the province’s

mother tongue being French. At a national level, 20.0% of the population spoke French most

often at home, while 20.6% of the population’s mother tongue was French (excluding Quebec,

these percentages are much lower, at 2.1% and 3.5% respectively).

Between 2011 and 2016, the percentage of the population who primarily spoke a non-official

language, increased by 0.4 percentage points (p.p.) in terms of language spoken most often at

home, and by 0.6 p.p. in terms of mother tongue.

Language Spoken Most Often at Home (New Brunswick, 2016)

Total Share of Population

Language 2016 2016 2011

English 505,935 68.7% 69.2% French 206,315 28.0% 28.4% Non-official language 12,690 1.7% 1.3% English and French 7,280 1.0% 0.8% English and non-official language 3,435 0.5% 0.3% French and non-official language 345 0.0% 0.0% English, French and non-official language 290 0.0% 0.0%

-0.6

-0.0

-0.2

-0.2

-0.3

-0.9

-0.2

-0.2

-0.1

+0.0

-0.0

-0.0

+0.2

+0.2

Canada

NL

PE

NS

NB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

YT

NT

NU

Change in Proportion of Population Whose Language Spoken Most

Often At Home Is French (2011-2016)

Changes in Percentage Points

-0.7

-0.0

-0.3

-0.2

-0.2

-1.0

-0.2

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

-0.1

+0.1

+0.2

+0.3

Canada

NL

PE

NS

NB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

YT

NT

NU

Change in Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue Is French

(2011-2016) Changes in Percentage Points

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 3 of 11

Mother Tongue (New Brunswick, 2016)

Total Share of Population

Language 2016 2016 2011

English 472,725 64.2% 64.9% French 231,110 31.4% 31.6% Non-official language 23,150 3.1% 2.5% English and French 7,280 1.0% 0.9% English and non-official language 1,535 0.2% 0.2% French and non-official language 330 0.0% 0.0% English, French and non-official language 145 0.0% 0.0%

In 2016, French was less common (proportionally) both as a language spoken at home most

often and as a mother tongue for younger New Brunswickers (compared to older groups).

Non-official languages as a mother tongue were more common for young, working age

individuals (ages 15-44), driven by immigration to the province.

In 2016, having multiple mother tongues was more common for younger New Brunswickers.

Language Spoken Most Often at Home by Age Group (New Brunswick, 2016)

Age Group English French Non-official

language English and

French

Other Combinations of Languagesi

0-9 70.2% 25.2% 2.4% 1.4% 0.8%

10-14 70.5% 25.2% 2.3% 1.2% 0.7%

15-19 71.9% 24.2% 2.2% 1.0% 0.7%

20-24 71.6% 24.6% 2.1% 1.0% 0.6%

25-44 68.5% 27.3% 2.3% 1.1% 0.8%

45-64 67.7% 29.7% 1.4% 0.8% 0.4%

65+ 67.7% 30.4% 0.7% 0.9% 0.3%

All Ages 68.7% 28.0% 1.7% 1.0% 0.6%

Mother Tongue by Age Group (New Brunswick, 2016)

Age Group English French Non-official

language English and

French

Other Combinations of Languages

0-9 69.3% 25.4% 3.0% 1.7% 0.6%

10-14 69.1% 25.7% 3.3% 1.5% 0.4%

15-19 69.4% 25.4% 3.5% 1.3% 0.3%

20-24 67.8% 26.8% 3.7% 1.3% 0.3%

25-44 63.7% 30.6% 4.3% 1.0% 0.4%

45-64 62.3% 34.1% 2.8% 0.7% 0.2%

65+ 61.4% 35.6% 2.1% 0.8% 0.1%

All Ages 64.2% 31.4% 3.1% 1.0% 0.3%

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 4 of 11

In 2016, those whose mother tongue was French accounted for 43.1% of the province’s ruralii

(non-CMA/CA) population, compared to 24.4% of the urban (CMA/CA) population.

More than half (51.3%) of New Brunswickers whose mother tongue was French lived in a rural

part of the province. In contrast, only 31.3% of those in the province whose mother tongue was

English lived in rural NB. Accounting for a significant proportion of the province’s English

population (and a very small percentage of its French population), these shares were greatly

influenced by Saint John: if Saint John were to be excluded, these shares would rise to 52.5%

and 41.3% respectively.

Over 75% of New Brunswick residents whose mother tongue was a non-official language were

living in an urban (CMA/CA) area in 2016.

Mother Tongue by CMA/CA (New Brunswick, 2016)

CMA/CA English French Non-

official language

English and

French

Other Combinations of Languages

Bathurst 30.1% 66.8% 1.2% 1.7% 0.1%

Campbellton 36.1% 60.3% 1.1% 2.2% 0.2%

Edmundston 4.6% 93.0% 1.2% 1.1% 0.1%

Fredericton 85.5% 6.9% 6.3% 0.8% 0.5%

Miramichi 89.1% 8.1% 1.9% 0.9% 0.1%

Moncton 60.1% 34.2% 3.7% 1.6% 0.4%

Saint John 91.4% 4.1% 3.7% 0.5% 0.3%

Non-CMA/CA 53.9% 43.1% 2.1% 0.8% 0.2%

Total Population 64.2% 31.4% 3.1% 1.0% 0.3%

25.4% 25.7% 25.4% 26.8% 30.6% 34.1% 35.6%

NB Average (31.4%)

0-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-44 45-64 65+

Age Group

Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue is French, by Age Group (NB, 2016)

Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs) are formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). CMAs must have a population of at least 100,000, of which at least 50% must live within the core, while CAs must have a core population of at least 10,000. Full definitions for CMAs and CAs can be found on www.statcan.gc.ca.

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 5 of 11

Between 2011 and 2016, of the CMA and CAs in the province, Bathurst experienced the greatest

increases in terms of proportion of population whose mother tongue was French (+2.2 p.p.).

This change was driven by population decline, with more English speakers leaving the area than

French speakers, rather than an actual increase in the French population.

In terms of absolutes, between 2011 and 2016, of the CMA and CAs in the province, Moncton

experienced the greatest increases both in terms of total population whose mother tongue was

French (+1,775), and in terms of total population whose mother tongue was a non-official

language (+1,835).

The vast majority (93.2%) of the population whose mother tongue was French in 2016 lived in

the Northeast, Northwest or Southeast Economic Regions (ERs); 62.0%, 49.9% and 40.5% of the

total populations in these regions reported their mother tongue to be French, respectively.

Of the 5 New Brunswick ERs in 2016, The Central and Southeast ERs had the highest proportion

of residents whose mother tongue was a non-official language, at 5.1% and 3.7% respectively.

Between 2011 and 2016, the Southeast, Central and Southwest ERs experienced the moderate

growth in residents whose mother tongue was a non-official language, with growth of 2,125,

1,545, and 810 respectively.

An Economic Region (ER) is a grouping of complete census divisions (CDs) (with one exception in Ontario) created as a standard geographic unit for analysis of regional economic activity.

+2.2

+0.2

-1.0

-0.1

+0.0

-0.3

-0.3

+0.6

-0.2

Bathurst

Campbellton

Edmundston

Fredericton

Miramichi

Moncton

Saint John

Non-CMA/CA

New Brunswick

Change in Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue is French by

CMA/CA (NB, 2011-2016) Changes in Percentage Points

+0.4

-0.1

+0.5

+1.2

-0.2

+1.2

+0.6

+0.2

+0.7

Bathurst

Campbellton

Edmundston

Fredericton

Miramichi

Moncton

Saint John

Non-CMA/CA

New Brunswick

Change in Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue is a Non-Official Language by CMA/CA (NB, 2011-2016)

Changes in Percentage Points

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 6 of 11

Mother Tongue by Economic Region (New Brunswick, 2016)

ER/County English French Non-official

language English and

French

Other Combinations of Languages

Northeast ER 35.5% 62.0% 1.1% 1.2% 0.1%

Southeast ER 53.9% 40.5% 3.7% 1.5% 0.4%

Southwest ER 92.4% 3.6% 3.3% 0.4% 0.3%

Central ER 86.7% 7.1% 5.1% 0.8% 0.4%

Northwest ER 47.2% 49.9% 2.0% 0.8% 0.2%

In terms of counties, between 2011 and 2016, Northumberland County experienced the largest

decrease in proportion of population whose mother tongue was French (-3.7 p.p.), while

Sunbury County experienced the largest increase (+1.0 p.p.).

In terms of Economic Regions (ERs), between 2011 and 2016, The Southwest ER experienced the

largest decrease in proportion of population whose mother tongue was French (-0.4 p.p.), while

the Central ER experienced the largest increase (+0.2 p.p.).

62.0%

25.6%

63.6%

83.9%

41.0%

6.4%

41.6%

70.4%

3.7%

4.6%

2.3%

3.3%

6.9%

8.7%

4.6%

6.6%

49.9%

1.6%

42.7%

93.8%

Northeast ER

Northumberland

Restigouche

Gloucester

Southeast ER

Albert

Westmorland

Kent

Southwest ER

Saint John

Charlotte

Kings

Central ER

Sunbury

Queens

York

Northwest ER

Carleton

Victoria

Madawaska

Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue is French, by ER and

County (NB, 2016)

+0.0

-3.7

+0.3

-0.4

+0.5

-0.3

-1.6

-0.2

-0.4

-0.0

+0.0

+0.2

+1.0

-0.3

+0.1

+0.0

+0.2

+0.1

-1.1

Northeast ER

Northumberland

Restigouche

Gloucester

Southeast ER

Albert

Westmorland

Kent

Southwest ER

Saint John

Charlotte

Kings

Central ER

Sunbury

Queens

York

Northwest ER

Carleton

Victoria

Madawaska

Change in Proportion of Population Whose Mother Tongue is French, by ER

and County (NB, 2011-2016) Changes in Percentage Points

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 7 of 11

Knowledge of Official Languages refers to the ability of the individual to conduct a conversation in English only, in French only, in both English and French, or in neither English nor French at the time of the census.

Knowledge of Official Languages and English-French Bilingualism

In 2016, 33.9% of New Brunswickers were English-French bilingual (knowledge of both official

languages), up from 33.2% in 2011.

The English-French bilingualism rate for those who spoke French as their only mother tongue in

2016 was 72.1%, compared to 15.4% for those whose only mother tongue was English, and

14.1% for those whose mother tongue was a non-official language.

In 2016, despite only accounting for 31.4% of the province’s overall population, New

Brunswickers whose only mother tongue was French accounted for 66.7% of English-French

bilingual speakers in the province (knowledge of both official languages).

Knowledge of Official Languages by Age Group (New Brunswick, 2016)

Age Group English only French only English and

French Neither English

nor French 0 to 9 47,665 12,330 11,695 890 10 to 14 17,485 3,270 16,930 135 15 to 19 19,170 2,080 19,165 75 20 to 24 21,690 1,960 17,515 95 25 to 44 94,190 8,595 69,080 625 45 to 64 135,540 19,545 74,530 375 65+ 85,070 15,365 41,035 170 Total 420,815 63,145 249,950 2,370

Despite it being less common for younger New

Brunswickers’ mother tongue to be French compared

to older groups, the English-French bilingualism rate

in the province was much higher in younger groups;

44.8% of children ages 10 to 14 were bilingual, along

with 47.3% of those ages 15 to 19.

New Brunswick had the second highest rate of English-

French bilingualism among the provinces and

territories (behind Quebec), and experienced the third

greatest increase in terms of the proportion of the

population that was bilingual (+0.7 p.p.), behind only

Quebec (+1.9 p.p.) and the Northwest Territories (+1.3 p.p.).

16.1%

44.8% 47.3% 42.5% 40.0% 32.4% 29.0% NB Average

(33.9%)

0-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-44 45-64 65+

Age Group

English-French Bilingualism Rate by Age Group (NB, 2016)

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 8 of 11

In 2016, 65.0% of the Bathurst population was English-French bilingual, up from 62.4% in 2011,

both the largest overall proportion and the largest increase between Censuses for any CMA or

CA in the province.

The increase in bilingualism rate in both Bathurst and non-CMA/CA areas of New Brunswick was

most likely driven by population decline, rather than an increase in the number of bilingual

speakers.

17.9%

5.0%

12.6%

10.5%

33.9%

44.5%

11.2%

8.6%

4.7%

6.6%

6.8%

13.8%

10.3%

4.3%

Canada

NL

PE

NS

NB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

YT

NT

NU

Knowledge of Both Official Languages (Bilingualism) by

Province (2016)

+0.4

+0.4

+0.4

+0.2

+0.7

+1.9

+0.2

-0.0

+0.2

+0.0

+0.0

+0.6

+1.3

+0.5

Canada

NL

PE

NS

NB

QC

ON

MB

SK

AB

BC

YT

NT

NU

Change in Proportion of Population With Knowledge of Both Official

Languages (2011-2016) Changes in Percentage Points

65.0%

58.6%

58.5%

21.5%

17.2%

46.9%

15.1%

35.4%

33.9%

Bathurst

Campbellton

Edmundston

Fredericton

Miramichi

Moncton

Saint John

Non-CMA/CA

New Brunswick

Knowledge of Both Official Languages (Bilingualism) by CMA/CA (NB, 2016)

+2.6

-0.1

+0.2

+0.1

+0.9

+0.5

+0.3

+1.2

+0.7

Bathurst

Campbellton

Edmundston

Fredericton

Miramichi

Moncton

Saint John

Non-CMA/CA

New Brunswick

Change in Proportion of Population With Knowledge of Both Official Languages by

CMA/CA (NB, 2016) Changes in Percentage Points

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 9 of 11

Between 2011 and 2016, the Sunbury, Restigouche and Albert counties saw the largest

increases in proportion of their population with knowledge of both official languages, with

increases of 1.9, 1.3, and 1.3 p.p. respectively. Despite not containing any of these counties, the

Northwest was the ER that saw the greatest increase (in New Brunswick) in its bilingualism rate

(+1.0 p.p.).

43.7%

26.2%

51.7%

50.5%

50.6%

24.0%

51.9%

69.6%

13.8%

12.8%

8.3%

16.9%

19.7%

19.0%

9.4%

21.0%

39.1%

9.3%

44.9%

59.9%

Northeast ER

Northumberland

Restigouche

Gloucester

Southeast ER

Albert

Westmorland

Kent

Southwest ER

Saint John

Charlotte

Kings

Central ER

Sunbury

Queens

York

Northwest ER

Carleton

Victoria

Madawaska

Knowledge of Both Official Languages (Bilingualism) by Economic Region and

County (NB, 2016)

+0.6

+0.0

+1.3

+0.1

+0.4

+1.3

+0.3

-0.1

+0.3

-0.1

+0.2

+0.7

+0.9

+1.9

-0.0

+0.7

+1.0

+0.9

+0.9

+0.8

Northeast ER

Northumberland

Restigouche

Gloucester

Southeast ER

Albert

Westmorland

Kent

Southwest ER

Saint John

Charlotte

Kings

Central ER

Sunbury

Queens

York

Northwest ER

Carleton

Victoria

Madawaska

Change in Proportion of Population With Knowledge of Both Official Languages by

Economic Region and County (NB, 2011-2016)

Changes in Percentage Points

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 10 of 11

Non-official Languages

Of the 23,150 New Brunswickers whose mother tongue was a non-official language:

Arabic was not only the most common non-official mother tongue language in the province in

2016 (2,855), it also experienced the greatest total growth since 2011 (+1,530).

Chinese languages were the mother tongue of 3,085 New Brunswickers in 2016 (with Mandarin

accounting for 2,255); this was a significant increase from 1,825 in 2011.iii

2,165 New Brunswickers’ mother tongue was an Aboriginal language; of these, Mi’kmaq (1,835)

and Malecite (280) were by far the most common. This total was down from 2,545 in 2011.

In 2016, 9.7% of New Brunswick residents whose mother tongue was a non-official language

were unable to hold a conversation in an official language (English and/or French). This

percentage is up from 4.7% in 2011.

2,855

2,255

1,835

1,650

1,545

1,460

1,120

885

880

625

Arabic

Mandarin

Mi'kmaq

German

Korean

Spanish

Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)

Dutch

Russian

Vietnamese

Most Common Non-Official Mother Tongue Languages (2016)

+1,530

+1,260

+535

+525

+340

+145

-115

-155

-265

-280

Arabic

Chinese languages

Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)

Russian

Vietnamese

Hebrew

Malecite

German

Korean

Mi'kmaq

Growth/Decline for Select Mother Tongue Languages/Language Groups (2011-2016)

2016 Census Topic: Language New Brunswick Analysis

Page 11 of 11

The majority of those living in the province whose mother tongue was a non-official language

that did not have knowledge of either of the official languages, spoke Arabic as their mother

tongue.

In 2016, 41.5% of New Brunswick residents whose mother tongue was Arabic did not have

knowledge of either (or both) official language.

The vast majority of those whose mother tongue was Arabic or Mandarin lived in the York,

Westmorland or Saint John counties (the three largest counties, which contain Fredericton,

Moncton, and Saint John respectively).

i “Other Combination of Languages” includes those whose mother tongue was a non-official language in addition to English and/or French. ii *Rural population, for the purpose of this report, is considered the number of New Brunswickers not living in a

CMA/CA and does not align with Statistics Canada’s definition of rural. iii 65% of those who reported a “Chinese language” as their mother tongue in New Brunswick in 2011 did not

specify their specific language, making comparisons between 2011 and 2016 for the individual languages not possible.

90.3%

58.5%

86.0%

99.7%

9.7%

41.5%

14.0%

0.3%

Non-official languages

Arabic

Mandarin

Mi'kmaq

Able to Converse in English and/or French Unable to Converse in English or French

Knowledge of Official Languages for Select Groups by Mother Tongue (2016)

33.4%

29.7%

24.6%

12.3%

Other Counties

Saint John

York

Westmorland

Distribution of Those Who Speak Arabic as a Mother Tongue, by County (2016)

44.7%

20.1%

25.7%

9.5%

Other Counties

Saint John

York

Westmorland

Distribution of Those Who Speak Mandarin as a Mother Tongue, by County (2016)